Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 February 2023
67. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount of funding allocated for the skills for better business scheme under the Supplementary Estimate for 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9146/23]
View answerSkills for Better Business comprises an Online Tool for management skills assessment, complemented by a sign-posting resource providing easy to access contact information for management education and training. The initiative was launched by my Department on 30 November 2022.
No supplementary funding has been sought for this initiative in 2023. I am satisfied that there is sufficient funding in my Department’s core budget and across the budgets of the partner organisations for the successful rollout of this initiative. Most of the resources for this project have been met directly by the fourteen partner organisations via the time and expertise they have devoted to the work, and this continues to be the case.
The 14 project partners are: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Skillnet Ireland; Enterprise Ireland; SOLAS; the Small Firms Association (SFA); ISME; the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs); the Regional Skills Fora; the Higher Education Authority (HEA); the Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA); Chambers Ireland; Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI); the Irish Universities Association (IUA); and the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA).
The direct cost of the Online Tool, at €60,300, is only a small part of the resource input into the project. Different sub-groups of the 14 partners worked on the Online Tool, the Courses & Contacts pages, and the Comms Strategy for the project. The contribution in time and expertise from all involved was very substantial throughout. These organisations have therefore absorbed much of the cost of the project through their collaboration in its delivery. The project is set to continue in a similar manner in 2023, the focus being to maintain and promote the website on which the online tool is located.
The main message for SME owners and managers, which was emphasised in the EGFSN's Leading the Way report, is that prioritising management training and development is an investment in the success of a business. The OECD has highlighted that productivity is relatively low in Irish SMEs and one of the most direct ways to improve that is for management skills and practices to improve.
